Our views: Dying dolphins (May 22)

Fatalities, infections show lagoon cleanup needs

They're mammals, just like humans, and their plight should draw the public's attention to trouble in the Indian River Lagoon and the danger that poses to the estuary - and us.

That's the case this week, with disturbing news that bottlenose dolphins in Brevard and Volusia counties' lagoon waters are dying at a record pace that could double last year's Space Coast total.

In less than five months this year, 40 of the dead mammals have been found. In comparison, 55 were found in all of 2009.

Scientists are stumped, but one theory points to this winter's unusual cold.

The freezing temperatures triggered fish kills that may have robbed the dolphins of their food source and left them weakened and malnourished, some experts say.

But this has nothing to do with frigid waters:

In recent years, scientists have found lagoon dolphins with a high incidence of tumors, heart problems, cancer, stomach ulcers, genital herpes and other ailments not previously common in their breed.

As many as half the 90 dolphins recently studied in the lagoon suffer from some form of chronic infectious disease. Dolphins near Merritt Island seem in especially poor health, possibly because of degraded water quality caused by toxins and other pollutants.

The fragile condition of the lagoon's dolphins show the importance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to set new standards to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus flowing into Florida waters from lawns, septic tanks and sewage treatment plants.

The goal is to roughly cut in half the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the lagoon, which now total 3.3 million pounds and more than 475,000 pounds, respectively. Over time, water quality would improve and so would the lagoon's health.

Cleanup costs are causing concern among cities and counties along the lagoon's 156-mile length. That's understandable with budgets suffering from lost revenue caused by the recession.

But Florida officials refused to enact the standards for 13 years, bowing to pressure from polluters. It took a successful lawsuit by five environmental groups to force the EPA to order the new rules last year.

Meanwhile, state studies show 1,000 miles of rivers, 350,000 acres of lakes and 900 square miles of estuaries in Florida have become tainted with nutrients that damage and kill marine life, including in the lagoon.

Florida waters are irreplaceable natural resources and saving them is necessary for public health and the economy.

The lagoon alone has an annual economic impact of about $3.7 billion. Its value in Brevard tops $1.2 billion, creating thousands of jobs in the boating and fishing industries.

It's time the foot-dragging end. Long-term, cost-effective plans must be devised to strictly limit the nutrients, saving Florida's waterways and with them the rare and imperiled jewel that is the lagoon.

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Our views: Dying dolphins (May 22)

Increased number of dolphins deaths, illnesses show need to clean up lagoon.